Trustees & Directors
The Forth Rivers Trust is a registered charity with OSCR and Companies House and follows all processes and laws required. We’re governed by a board of volunteer trustees and directors who have various skills and expertise which support the operations of the organisation.
The board is responsible for the conduct of the Forth Rivers Trust and ensure that the Trust operates in accordance with its constitution and the law.
Day-to-day management of the Trust is carried out by the Trust Director who, alongside the senior management team, reports back to the Board of Trustees and Directors.
Stuart Appleyard
Chair
I seem to have been in and around water all my life, via interests (bird watching, dog walking, canoeing), the content of my Biology Degree and through my various roles within the Scotch Whisky (and Brewing) industry, where I started as a microbiologist analysing water quality.
Throughout my career I have worked with individuals and teams who, armed with the right information and drivers, have changed working practices and delivered significant improvements to business performance. I really believe that communities, business and industry working together can have the same impact and deliver sustainable improvements to our natural environment.
As I make more time available, I try to use my voice, experience and enthusiasm to support people and organisations that are trying to make a difference to the world we live in. As a trustee my role can be simplified to “ensuring that the trust has a future”, by being successful in this duty my colleagues and I ensure that the trust has the resilience to continue delivering on its thriving reputation of providing sustainable solutions that improve the local environment in which you and I live, work and play.
Paul Timms
Vice Chair
Fiona Simpson
Trustee
Fiona is the Rural Asset Manager for Crown Estate Scotland working for more than 30 years in asset and property management which has involved large rural estates, agricultural, commercial, residential, sporting, office and fishing lettings as well as mineral operations. She has considerable experience in dealing with contracts, leases and property titles as well as project management of landscape restoration, agricultural building and residential property renovation schemes.
Her work has given her a strong interest in ecology, conservation and sustainable development activity. Involved in management & letting of Crown salmon fishing rights across Scotland since the 1990’s and as a Board member on Forth, Clyde and Tweed District Salmon Fishery Board and Trusts.
Well aware of the challenges affecting migratory fish and angling, particularly in the Forth and Clyde catchments, she has been involved in supporting angling, educational and habitat related projects for many years.
Chris Thomas
Trustee
Formerly a field survey geologist with the British Geological Survey, latterly working on coastal and river sediment processes, I have a keen interest in rivers, particularly their being able to function as naturally as possible, free from major physical impediments and pollution. I am a strong advocate of holistic, natural catchment management through the application of the latest science and best practice.
As a trustee of the Forth Rivers Trust, I promote the Trust and its work, and support the Director and staff in their work, through practical volunteering, and through my skills and experience in the geosciences. I am a keen trout and grayling angler and enjoy coarse fishing too. I am a member of the Wild Trout Trust. Away from rivers, my other outdoor interests include photography, walking, running and cycling.
Keith Broomfield
Trustee
The former director of a PR agency, Keith is a well-known Scottish nature writer with an interest in wildlife spanning from his earliest years.
A graduate in zoology from the University of Aberdeen, Keith’s writing covers virtually every element of the natural world and he has a special interest in aquatic life, both marine and freshwater.
He writes weekly nature columns for The Courier and Press & Journal newspapers, as well as his ‘On the Wildside’ column for the Alloa Advertiser. He has written five books on the wildlife of Scotland and the UK, as well as ‘A Snorkeller’s Guide to the Mediterranean”.
Keith is also a trustee and editor of the Forth Naturalist & Historian and is a committee member of the Devon Angling Association.
Hannah Oliver
Trustee
Hannah has a keen interest in the connection between people, communities and the land and water around them, and the value and power of these connections in a changing climate.
She has a background in soil science and sustainable land management and has previously worked as a climate resilience consultant in the agricultural sector. Her experience includes research in quantifying the impacts of climate hazards on farm businesses, conducting Climate Change Risk Assessments for a variety of organisations, visual communications and governing for resilience.
Hannah works as a Local Lead at the Scottish Climate Intelligence Service, supporting local authorities in and around the Forth catchment in delivering effective and fair area-wide climate action. She can often be found cycling Scotland’s excellent gravel tracks, walking, swimming and exploring the great outdoors.
Forth Rivers Trust
Forth Rivers Trust is a registered charity in Scotland (SC040311) and a company limited by guarantee (SC344935).
Forthriverstrust.org and Forthriverstrust.co.uk